Chris Beesley and the rest of the team will be with you today from 7am to ensure constant coverage of all things EFC, including news, great photos, nostalgia, live interviews and much, much more.

The ECHO will also provide you with the very latest transfer news as it happens throughout the week, with every rumour and story digested and analysed each day with updates from full-time EFC reporter Phil Kirkbride, as well as Head of Sport David Prentice and more.

There will be all the latest team news before games, plus every one of the next Everton manager's press conferences covered live and with video.

We want you to get involved too - tell us your thoughts on what's happening at Goodison by tweeting @LivEchoEFC or @CBeesleyEcho. Join the debate!

Fans have their say on Arteta

Happy Birthday Howard

Birthday memories today one of the most influential men in Everton’s history, True Blue icon Howard Kendall who would have been 72.

Not only was he part of the club’s most fabled midfield combinations ‘The Holy Trinity’ with Colin Harvey and Alan Ball but he managed Everton over three separate spells, including his first stint, the Blues most successful era, between 1981-87.

Howard Kendall with the European Cup Winners Cup which Everton won in 1985

Hirving Lozano in action during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 Play-Off for Third Place between Portugal and Mexico at Spartak Stadium on July 2, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. (Image: Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

08:49

Blues need to get their identity back

So says former Everton frontman James McFadden.

The often mercurial Scot, capable of magic on his day (remember that goal against Charlton Athletic?) is advocating a return to a more entertaining brand of football.

He says:

“I know that they finished eighth at the end of the season but some of the fans weren’t happy with the brand of football and unfortunately for Sam it cost him his job, he was brought in to turn it around and win games.

“He’s done that but I think the fans are looking for a style of play, attacking and free-flowing and it just wasn’t the case. They need to get their identity back.”

New boss poll

Everton didn’t do too badly bringing back a still relatively youthful former midfielder back as manager in 1981.

Howard Kendall was only 35 then and younger than Arteta is now (36) but crucially he did already have two years of experience in charge at Blackburn Rovers under his belt.

08:08

Pellegrini in at West Ham

With Paulo Fonseca seemingly staying put at Shakhtar Donetsk, Manuel Pellegrini replaces former Everton manager David Moyes at West Ham.

The Chilean was believed to be among the candidates for the Blues job ahead of Ronald Koeman’s appointment in 2016.

07:59

There's nobody better?

Quite a bit shout this but what about Mikel Arteta for the Everton job?

Everything we’re hearing suggests that Marco Silva is still very much Farhad Moshiri’s first choice and talks are at an advanced stage so perhaps suggesting an alternative is somewhat futile.

However, as much as they’d obviously support Silva when he is presumably appointed (in a similar fashion to Roberto Martinez who many fans had reservations over), the Portuguese coach doesn’t seem to have captured the supporters’ imagination if all our research is anything to go by.

Of course the untried Arteta would be a significant risk given his rookie status but he did seem to be well-fancied by Arsenal for taking on the huge task of replacing Arsene Wenger before they eventually plumped for the more experienced Unai Emery.

Is sentiment attached to this? Perhaps, but ‘The best little Spaniard we know’ is now a rising star in coaching circles and it seems that someone is going to snap him up soon.

Last I heard, Arteta hadn’t even been considered by Goodison chiefs but surely he deserves to be part of the conversation?

Mikel Arteta, Manchester City coach and future Everton manager?

07:38KEY EVENT

Brands hints at big changes

Speaking in his ECHO column, former Everton defender Michael Ball reckons that while the Blues might have already had a director of football in Steve Walsh. the appointment of Marcel Brands points to big changes in policy.

He says:

Marcel Brands’ appointment as Everton’s Director of Football hints at a significant change in Everton’s structure - even though we appointed our first Director of Football two years ago.

It was very interesting to read Marcel’s comments about why he wanted to come to Everton: he wants to win trophies and he wants to be competing against the best in the league.

That’s exactly what we want to hear and suggests that Marcel is going to have more control over the club than Walsh ever had.

The model at the club seems to have changed significantly. Farhad Moshiri has scoured the globe to find the man he wants to take the club in a different direction.